Studies focusing on televised presidential primary debates include four prespectives. From a historical perspective, televised presidential primary debates have increased slowly from 1956 through 1980. With the 1975 Federal Communications Commission ruling that independently sponsored campaign debates were news events exempt from "equal…

Surveys existing research on televised campaign debates; indicates areas for future research; considers the resources needed to expand and improve current research efforts; and encourages more systematic and sustained inquiry. Notes two compelling needs in terms of resources: an archive containing comprehensive records of media coverage of the…